Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys In 1941, fifteen-year-old Lina, her mother, and brother are pulled from their Lithuanian home by Soviet guards and sent to Siberia, where her father is sentenced to death in a prison camp while she fights for her life, vowing to honor her family and the thousands like hers by burying her story in a jar on Lithuanian soil.
Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin Examines the history of the atomic bomb, discussing the discovery of the behavior of uranium when placed next to radioactive material, the race to build a bomb, and the impact of the weapon on societies around the world.
Book Thief by Markus Zusak Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel--a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.
Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne Bored and lonely after his family moves from Berlin to a place called "Out-With" in 1942, Bruno, the son of a Nazi officer, befriends a boy in striped pajamas who lives behind a wire fence.
Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson Leon Leyson describes growing up in Poland, being forced from home to ghetto to concentration camps by the Nazis, and being saved by Oskar Schindler.
Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank A thirteen-year-old Dutch-Jewish girl records her impressions of the two years she and seven others spent hiding from the Nazis before they were discovered and taken to concentration camps.
Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan Lost in the Black Forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and finds himself entwined in a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica--and decades later three children, Friedrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California find themselves caught up in the same thread of destiny in the darkest days of the twentieth century, struggling to keep their families intact, and tied together by the music of the same harmonica.
Eyes of the Emperor by Graham Salisbury Following orders from the United States Army, several young Japanese American men train K-9 units to hunt Asians during World War II.
Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb Presents the history of the group of spies, Holocaust survivors, and lawyers who pursued Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi war criminal, for fifteen years in order to bring him to justice for his leadership role in the killing of thousands of Jews during World War II.
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie learns how to be brave and courageous when she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis.
Phantoms in the Snow by Kathleen Benner Duble Fifteen-year-old Noah Garrett, sent to live with his uncle in Camp Hale, Colorado, following the death of his parents in 1944, finds himself struggling between his upbringing as a pacifist, and life on a military base in the middle of World War II.
Port Chicago 50 by Steve Sheinkin Describes the fifty black sailors who refused to work in unsafe and unfair conditions after an explosion in Port Chicago killed 320 servicemen, and how the incident influenced civil rights.
Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz Based on the life of Jack Gruener, this book relates his story of survival from the Nazi occupation of Krakow, when he was eleven, through a succession of concentration camps, to the final liberation of Dachau.
Pure Gritby Mary Cronk Farrell Chronicles the experiences of American nurses who served in the Philippines during World War II.
Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan A fictionalized account of how a group of Norwegian children carried bullion to the sea on their sleds, thus helping their country move its gold reserves to the United States during the German occupation. Someone Named Eva by Joan M. Wolf From her home in Lidice, Czechoslovakia, in 1942, eleven-year-old Milada is taken with other blond, blue-eyed children to a school in Poland to be trained as "proper Germans" for adoption by German families, but all the while she remembers her true name and history.
T4 by Ann Clare LeZotte After the Nazi party takes control of Germany, thirteen-year-old Paula, who is deaf, is forced to go into hiding because of Adolf Hitler's Tiegartenstrasse 4--T4--which was put in place to kill any mentally ill or disabled people. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand A biography of Olympic runner and World War II bombardier, Louis Zamperini, who had been rambunctious in childhood before succeeding in track and eventually serving in the military, which led to a trial in which he was forced to find a way to survive in the open ocean after being shot down.
War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley A young disabled girl and her brother are evacuated from London to the English countryside during World War II, where they find life to be much sweeter away from their abusive mother.
Yellow Star by Jennifer Rozines Roy From 1939, when Syvia is four and a half years old, to 1945 when she has just turned ten, a Jewish girl and her family struggle to survive in Poland's Lodz ghetto during the Nazi occupation.
Library Open Access Disclosure
The library is an open access facility that contains a wide diversity of views and expression. We provide materials for many reading and maturity levels. Please use your best judgment and self-select books wisely. You have many advocates to help you make a decision. Your parents are an excellent resource in helping you choose a book. Please note that not all of these books are on the district approved classroom reading list.
In 1941, fifteen-year-old Lina, her mother, and brother are pulled from their Lithuanian home by Soviet guards and sent to Siberia, where her father is sentenced to death in a prison camp while she fights for her life, vowing to honor her family and the thousands like hers by burying her story in a jar on Lithuanian soil.
Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin
Examines the history of the atomic bomb, discussing the discovery of the behavior of uranium when placed next to radioactive material, the race to build a bomb, and the impact of the weapon on societies around the world.
Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel--a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.
Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
Bored and lonely after his family moves from Berlin to a place called "Out-With" in 1942, Bruno, the son of a Nazi officer, befriends a boy in striped pajamas who lives behind a wire fence.
Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson
Leon Leyson describes growing up in Poland, being forced from home to ghetto to concentration camps by the Nazis, and being saved by Oskar Schindler.
Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
A thirteen-year-old Dutch-Jewish girl records her impressions of the two years she and seven others spent hiding from the Nazis before they were discovered and taken to concentration camps.
Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Lost in the Black Forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and finds himself entwined in a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica--and decades later three children, Friedrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California find themselves caught up in the same thread of destiny in the darkest days of the twentieth century, struggling to keep their families intact, and tied together by the music of the same harmonica.
Eyes of the Emperor by Graham Salisbury
Following orders from the United States Army, several young Japanese American men train K-9 units to hunt Asians during World War II.
Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb
Presents the history of the group of spies, Holocaust survivors, and lawyers who pursued Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi war criminal, for fifteen years in order to bring him to justice for his leadership role in the killing of thousands of Jews during World War II.
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie learns how to be brave and courageous when she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis.
Phantoms in the Snow by Kathleen Benner Duble
Fifteen-year-old Noah Garrett, sent to live with his uncle in Camp Hale, Colorado, following the death of his parents in 1944, finds himself struggling between his upbringing as a pacifist, and life on a military base in the middle of World War II.
Port Chicago 50 by Steve Sheinkin
Describes the fifty black sailors who refused to work in unsafe and unfair conditions after an explosion in Port Chicago killed 320 servicemen, and how the incident influenced civil rights.
Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz
Based on the life of Jack Gruener, this book relates his story of survival from the Nazi occupation of Krakow, when he was eleven, through a succession of concentration camps, to the final liberation of Dachau.
Pure Grit by Mary Cronk Farrell
Chronicles the experiences of American nurses who served in the Philippines during World War II.
Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan
A fictionalized account of how a group of Norwegian children carried bullion to the sea on their sleds, thus helping their country move its gold reserves to the United States during the German occupation.
Someone Named Eva by Joan M. Wolf
From her home in Lidice, Czechoslovakia, in 1942, eleven-year-old Milada is taken with other blond, blue-eyed children to a school in Poland to be trained as "proper Germans" for adoption by German families, but all the while she remembers her true name and history.
T4 by Ann Clare LeZotte
After the Nazi party takes control of Germany, thirteen-year-old Paula, who is deaf, is forced to go into hiding because of Adolf Hitler's Tiegartenstrasse 4--T4--which was put in place to kill any mentally ill or disabled people.
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
A biography of Olympic runner and World War II bombardier, Louis Zamperini, who had been rambunctious in childhood before succeeding in track and eventually serving in the military, which led to a trial in which he was forced to find a way to survive in the open ocean after being shot down.
War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
A young disabled girl and her brother are evacuated from London to the English countryside during World War II, where they find life to be much sweeter away from their abusive mother.
Yellow Star by Jennifer Rozines Roy
From 1939, when Syvia is four and a half years old, to 1945 when she has just turned ten, a Jewish girl and her family struggle to survive in Poland's Lodz ghetto during the Nazi occupation.
Library Open Access Disclosure
The library is an open access facility that contains a wide diversity of views and expression. We provide materials for many reading and maturity levels. Please use your best judgment and self-select books wisely. You have many advocates to help you make a decision. Your parents are an excellent resource in helping you choose a book. Please note that not all of these books are on the district approved classroom reading list.